Typical reciprocating food slicers have a rotatable, circular or disc-like slicing blade, an adjustable gauge plate for determining the thickness of the slice and a carriage for supporting the food as it is moved back and forth past the cutting edge of the knife during slicing. A drive motor is typically linked to drive the carriage back and forth during an automatic slicing operation carried out by a controller of the slicer. The gauge plate is situated along the edge of the knife toward the front of a slicing stroke and is laterally movable with respect to the knife for determining the thickness of the slices to be cut. A mechanism such as an adjustment knob for setting a spacing between the plane of the gauge plate surface and the plane of the plane of the knife edge for the purpose of slicing is also typically provided so that operators can select a thickness of slices to be produced. Movement of the gauge plate is generally a linear movement of the plane of the gauge plate relative to the plane of the knife edge. Thus, movement of the gauge plate handle can be considered to move the gauge plate in a manner to make slice thickness adjustments. The gauge plate has a “closed” position in which the position of the gauge plate is such that slices will not be cut even if the carriage and associated food product are moved back and forth past the knife. When the gauge plate is “open” a range of positions provide for slices of varying thickness
In prior slicers, when the gauge plate of an automatic food slicer was closed from its open position, the knife motor was shut OFF and the food carriage transport system was stopped immediately (e.g., drive motor shut off), such that the carriage could potentially stop at any point along the stroke length without regard for the then current direction of travel of the carriage.